A Wound No Sword Could Inflict
by speed killz
Summary: Setsuna dedicated her life to protecting Konoka, and the only thing that she ever wanted in return was for Konoka to admire her. When Setsuna is nearly defeated in a fight, Setsuna sees Konoka admiring the enemy, and Setsuna feels hurt and betrayed.
1. Chapter 1

A Wound No Sword Could Inflict.

Chapter One.

Raven-haired Setsuna allowed herself some small measure of satisfaction as she watched Konoka out of the corner of her eye. The happy-go-lucky girl didn't appear to have a care in the world, as she talked to both Asuna, Negi, and Setsuna all at the same time. Konoka-ojou-sama was still unharmed, but now she was aware of magic, wizards, and the special power that Setsuna held. Setsuna shook her head in mock shame as she realized that she was falling into a predictable habit, one she knew she had to break or it could be costly.

First, Setsuna would find herself protecting Konoka-ojou-sama from any harm that came their way, and for a few days after that, she would be uptight and anxious about any more attacks that might come their way. Then, guilt set in as Setsuna temporarily dropped Konoka's friendship to stay alert and on edge for attacks, and she would eventually let Konoka's warm smile and gentle touch draw her back to her side again, and her guard would drop. Then the attacks would happen again, and the cycle repeated itself. Right now, Setsuna was in the middle of allowing herself to return back to Konoka's side, for their hadn't been any threat of attack in weeks. Setsuna had allowed herself to think that maybe they had given up, but she knew that probably wasn't the case.

"Setsuna!"

Setsuna looked up from the ground automatically, hearing her name, and her gaze softened slightly as she realized it was Konoka who had called her name.

"Yes, Konoka-ojou-sama?" She asked softly. Konoka grinned wildly at her, laughing. "I don't know, I just enjoy saying your name, Setsuna-san!" She said. Setsuna almost laughed, but caught herself, instead grinning lop-sidedly as she tried to glare at her, failing miserably.

Konoka laughed again, and Setsuna took it all lightly, knowing that Konoka would never mean any disrespect by it. As they walked, Setsuna found herself wondering why she was so reluctant to have fun with Konoka anyway. She then remembered the attacks, but another side of her reasoned that, since they had attacked before, they would probably attack again, so distancing herself now from Konoka wasn't very likely to make the attacks stop. Instead, she reasoned, it was best to become even closer to Konoka-ojou-sama, and show the attackers that if they tried to attack Konoka, then they really would have a pissed off Setsuna after them. Just as Setsuna was deciding to give that a try, she was jerked out of her thoughts by Konoka.

"Setsuna-san?"

Setsuna looked at her calmly, just a hint of a smile on her face. "Yes, Konoka-ojou-sama?" She asked.

Konoka, ever happy, was smiling widely. "I've got an idea!" She said excitedly.

Setsuna, despite the fact that it was bound to be something silly, was curious as to what it was. "What?" She asked.

"Let's hold hands!" She exclaimed, grabbing Setsuna's hand before she could protest or pull away.

"B-but Kono-" She was cut off as Konoka put a finger to her lips, silencing her.

"Don't worry Setsuna-san." She whispered, winking at her. "I won't tell anyone."

Setsuna half-laughed, and half groaned, knowing full well what Konoka was up to. Everyone knew that Konoka cared deeply for each and every one of her friends, and it was plainly visible through her space-case, always happy attitude, with the way she talked to everyone and always inquired about their health and how they were doing. Now, instead of showing that caring by the treats, cakes, and talks like she used to, her mind was slowly being warped by the perverted acts of Negi and the rest of the class of 3-A, and her way of showing she cared was starting to take on just a bit of a naughty streak.

Setsuna played along, and lied to herself, telling herself that she wasn't too happy about doing this, and was just doing it to make Konoka happy. Never-the-less, Setsuna counted it too soon when Konoka suddenly let go of her hand, to point at a card shop at the corner of the street. They were still within Mahora Academy grounds, and were just wandering about, trying to find a good way to kill the rest of the friday afternoon. As Setsuna glanced at the shop, she saw their reflection in the shop's window, and she spent a few seconds admiring Konoka, before she realized that there was a man some ways behind her. That in itself presented little to be worried about, but it was the third time she had seen this cloaked man, and it was starting to worry her. An attack seemed imminent, and she sighed, fixing her sword on her back for easier drawing.

"Let's go in and see if they have any rare cards!" Konoka said, grabbing Setsuna's hand and dragging her in. As she did, she glanced swiftly behind her, and saw the same figure loitering at a coffee shop, apparently waiting for them to come out. Setsuna decided to ignore him until they exited the shop, and decided to keep all her attention on Konoka.

"Aww Konoka, your weakness for material goods is just as bad as Haruna said." Setsuna commented dryly, watching Konoka fly through the cards and toss a few select cards onto a top shelf, separating them from the large pile of Tarot cards she already had copies of.

"Well, I haven't found your weakness yet, but when I do, you're going down." Konoka said, sticking her tongue out at Setsuna playfully. Setsuna gently pushed her shoulder, but failed to move her any great amount, for she didn't want to be rough with her.

_Ah, Konoka, if you only knew my weakness..._

While waiting, Setsuna looked out the window, and casually glanced toward the area where she had last seen her stalker, and sure enough, he was still there, this time joined by another, slightly smaller cloaked figure.

"Set-chaaaaaan!" Setsuna looked back to Konoka, and stared at her. Konoka was holding a few cards, about six of them, in her hand, and looking at Setsuna hopefully.

"Set-chan, would you buy these for me?" She asked.

Setsuna had to forcefully hide her smile, and she continued staring at Konoka. Konoka's eyes widened, and they slowly filled with tears, rapidly breaking down Setsuna's defenses.

"Okay, okay, but you owe me Konoka." She said, reaching into her pocket to get some money. Konoka suddenly broke out into a wide grin, and put her arms around Setsuna's waist, hugging her tightly, all traces of her tears gone.

"Yaaay! Thanks Setsuna!" She said. Setsuna's eyes narrowed, and she looked at Konoka.

"Did...did you just fake cry?" She asked. Konoka giggled.

"Asuna taught me it! She said it was something about you liking me enough to give me anything I wanted if I just preten--Oops." Konoka covered her mouth, and blushed lightly, as Setsuna glared at her. She growled lightly, then grabbed Konoka and started tickling her, as "punishment."

"Hah, I'll teach you to fake cry!" She said. Konoka, weakened and laughing hard, tried ineffectively to ward off Setsuna's hands. Finally, when she couldn't take the tickling anymore, she gasped out an apology, and Setsuna let up, letting her catch her breath. When Konoka collected herself, they walked to the front of the store, where Setsuna happily bought the cards for Konoka.

"There." Setsuna said, handing her the six rare cards. "You owe me now." She said playfully. Konoka, not catching the joke, nodded. "Yes, I understand, I'll pay you back as soon as I can." She said.

Setsuna shook her head, opening the door.

"No, I was kidding," She said. "I don't want you to pa--"

"Setsuna, look out!" Konoka yelled, pointing behind her.

Setsuna whirled around, drawing her blade and blocking a downward stroke that, if it hit, would have left her paralysed. If she had lived that long. Setsuna's mind was immediately filled with thoughts of how to best protect Konoka, and it took a few seconds for it to register in her mind that she was fighting the one that had been following them. As she laid eyes on the figure, it seemed to be the form of a large man.

"Konoka, go inside the store until I come to get you." She said calmly, never taking her eyes off her opponent. When she heard a quiet "Okay", then a door opening and closing behind her, Setsuna raised her blade and grinned at the hooded figure.

"Your move." She said, and no sooner were the words out of her mouth than the man charged, swinging with the same downward stroke. Setsuna aain easily parried it, then was about to counter-attack when the man kicked at her. Setsuna dodged the kick, and circled around to the left, thrusting at the mans right side. She thrust her sword toward him, and as she had hoped, he parried it perfectly, turning her blade down and away from himself, and counter-thrusting with his own sword. Setsuna dived forward, ducking under the blade, and the blade passed inches above her left shoulder. She decided to see if it really was a man or not, and delivered a violent knee to the groin, making the figure freeze, then fall to the ground, cursing and gasping for air. Setsuna kicked his sword out of his weak grasp, and sent it skidding off into the crowd that had formed to watch the fight. Thinking she was done, Setsuna sheathed her sword, and was about to turn away when someone pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Setsuna.

"Fight me now."

The soft female voice reached Setsuna's ears, and Setsuna's eyes narrowed. She slowly drew her sword, and the hooded woman across from her did the same. Just before the second fight started, Setsuna noticed that they were wearing the same one piece dark brown cloak. From beneath the dark brown cloak appeared two shiny, very sharp-looking sabres, and Setsuna knew that the calibre of her enemy had just sharply risen. She flexed her fingers, and squeezed the hilt of her sword, taking a deep breath to calm herself, her eyes never leaving the form of the woman in front of her.

Setsuna made the first move, lunging forward and slashing at her opponent. With Setsuna's heavier blade approaching from the sky, the enemy had no choice but to employ both lighter sabres to stop the downward slash, and even then, Setsuna managed to push the sabres down a few inches. Well experienced with the use of sabres, the hooded enemy knew it would be a simple task to divert all of Setsuna's blades momentum, and did so with one sabre, turning the blade down and to the side, the slash falling harmlessly to the ground while the hooded figure used the other sabre to thrust deep into Setsuna's stomach.

A gasp reached her ears, and Setsuna looked to see Konoka hiding half in and half out of the shop's doorway, watching the fight. Setsuna looked toward her enemy again, just in time to catch a sabre-hilted punch to the face, making stars explode in front of her eyes, and laying her out on her back, wincing in pain. She had accidentally let go of her sword in surprise, and it clattered away, skidding to a stop a few feet from her outstretched hand. As Setsuna opened her eyes, her first thought was of Konoka. They had to be after Konoka, and now that Setsuna was down, they would no doubt try to take her. She looked to where Konoka was standing, and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw. Konoka was staring at the cloaked figure with a mixture of amazement and respect.

"So strong...!" She whispered softly, and at hearing those words, something in Setsuna snapped. As memory after memory flashed through her mind, all of Setsuna protecting Konoka from various dangers, then Konoka smiling at her with that admiring look and saying, "Your so strong Set-chan!", Setsuna realized that Konoka had found someone else to admire. And it hurt.

Setsuna didn't really understand it, but she felt horribly betrayed by Konoka. She had given her whole life to learning the sword, getting strong, and learning impossibly hard techniques, and the only thing that drove her to do it all was Konoka, and now it seemed that it didn't even matter to her. Setsuna felt hot anger flooding through her body, and her eyes narrowed dangerously, as she glared at the hooded woman. Ignoring the wound in her stomach and the soreness on her cheek, she jumped up, attacking the figure bare-handedly.

She took several cuts and deep slashes on her arms before her opponent finally tossed away her sabres, opting for hand to hand combat with Setsuna. As she threw her weapons aside, Setsuna clawed the hood off the figure, and revealed a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed, scantily clad woman smiling a vixen smile at Setsuna.

"Couldn't help yourself, could you?" She asked. "Just had to get a look at the face of the one that is better than you, eh?" She asked. The woman shook her head.

"I thought that disciples of the Shinmei school were better trained to control their desires. You could have used that chance to kill me, then see my identity, but instead you do this."

Setsuna shook her head, and got into a fighting stance, adopting a slightly changed style from what Fei Ku was teaching Negi. It was an advanced Chinese martial art, and she was ready to use all of it's deadly moves on this fighter.

"No, the Shinmei school values honour, and it wouldn't be very honourable if I were to kill you while you were disarming yourself for me." She said. The woman was about to reply, but Setsuna launched an attack of her own, throwing a few easy punches and elbow thrusts to gauge the talent level of the woman as a hand to hand combatant.

The woman easily ducked under a punch, then blocked an elbow thrust, but was unprepared for the inside crescent kick that Setsuna unleashed on her, and she caught it on the jaw, knocking her back a few feet.

"Augh, damn you..."

Setsuna took a step forward, then turned, setting herself up for a tornado kick, but then faked out of it, instead ducking into a butterfly twist to gain some ground and move closer to her opponent, while forcing her opponent back to advoid being hit, thus putting her off balance. When Setsuna landed, she used the momentum of her trailing leg to spin into a 360 crescent kick, and this one caught the woman on the side of the head, close to the temple. She was knocked backwards, and hit the ground flat on her back, groaning slightly. Setsuna picked up her sword, then held it at the throat of the woman as she tried to rise.

"May I be graced with your name?" Setsuna asked. The woman smiled dangerously, slowly getting up. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She asked. Setsuna shrugged.

"Actually I don't, I just need something to call you for when I tell all my friends about how I kicked your sorry ass." She said. The woman straightened herself, and slowly walked over to her thrown weapons, retrieving them.

"If you can defeat me next time we meet, I might feel compelled to tell you, Setsuna." She said. With that, the woman shrugged on her cloak, and took off through the crowd, quickly disappearing from view.

"Damn..." Setsuna muttered. She sheathed her sword, and ignored Konoka as she called her name.

"Setsuna!" Konoka called for the second time, and Setsuna said nothing, slinging her sword over her shoulder.

"Setsuna?" Konoka asked, putting her hand on her friends shoulder, wondering what was wrong.

Setsuna looked over her shoulder at Konoka and glared at her.

"Don't touch me." She whispered, knowing her eyes were betraying the sadness and guilt she felt.

"Se-Set-chan...?" Konoka asked, feeling tears form in her eyes. Setsuna said nothing, but started walking back to her dorm, feeling sick. She didn't look back to see if Konoka was following; she didn't need to, for she could hear Konoka dragging her feet behind her, following her.

"What have I done to displease you, Setsuna?" Konoka asked, wiping tears off her cheek. Setsuna said nothing, instead she kept on walking, and occaisionally Konoka would see blood from Setsuna's wound spatter onto the concrete. Worried immensely about Setsuna, Konoka dried her tears and tried to think things through, to figure out what she could have done to hurt Setsuna. Head down and deep in thought, Konoka didn't even notice that she had followed Setsuna straight into her room, and now Setsuna was sitting on the bed, staring at her as she stood in the doorway.

"I'm going to bed, so you can leave now, unless you want to follow me into bed too." Setsuna said sarcastically. Konoka looked up, and made eye contact with Setsuna.

"Setsuna, please tell me what I've done wrong." She said softly. Setsuna shook her head. "Nothing." She lied. Konoka knew she was lying, and it hurt that Setsuna would lie so obviously to her.

"C-can I see your wounds?" She asked. "I might be able to heal them with my magic." She said.

Setsuna shook her head again. "I'm fine." She said mechanically, no emotion in her voice. Konoka was silent for a minute, then nodded, feeling tears forming again.

"Please, forgive me." She said. "Whatever I've done wrong, please forgive me." Konoka said, and with that, she turned and exited the room, unable to stand there and hear Setsuna's flat, monotonous voice lie to her. She walked back to her dormitory, and decided that sleep seemed like a pretty good idea.

Setsuna stared at Konoka until she was out of sight, then sighed and shut her door. She forgot to lock it, and fell onto her bed, feeling things that she had never felt before. Insecurity, fear, pain, anger, the sadness of defeat. They were all either new emotions for her, or ones that she hadn't experienced in such magnitude before.

"Why do I feel like I just lost my best friend?" She asked herself softly. The answer to the question was plainly obvious, she knew, and it hurt her a lot more than she was willing to admit. Konoka-ojou-sama was her best friend, then Setsuna had to go and ruin things. Not realizing that she was still bleeding out of the wound in her stomach, Setsuna rolled over and stared at the ceiling, remembering how she felt a pang of jealousy, anger, and even hatred at herself when she saw Konoka admiring the enemy. For all her worth, Setsuna couldn't figure out why she felt the way she did, and why she had reacted like that. It was almost an innate fear that Konoka had somehow come to like that other woman because she was stronger, and now that Setsuna had lost, even though she had won in the end, it felt like she had lost Konoka's trust. Her thoughts took up almost half an hour, and near the end of it she had lost quite a lot of blood, and her thoughts were becoming eratic, unlogical.

"Konoka..." She mumbled. "Am I not good enough for you now?" Suddenly feeling woozy and light-headed, she rolled back over onto her stomach, and closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep.

Konoka laid down on her bed, ignoring both Asuna and Negi's greeting.

_Setsuna, what did I do wrong?_ She thought, staring at her hands.

"Uh, Konoka, you alright?" Negi asked. Konoka slowly looked up at him, then shook her head. "I think the one I love the most just denied me, and won't even tell me why." She said softly, almost disbelievingly. "I don't know what I did wrong, either."

"Who was it?" Asuna asked gently, already knowing who it probably was.

"Setsuna." Konoka answered, feeling her tears forming again.

Asuna growled. "What! I'll kick her ass!" Asuna grabbed her probationary contract card, and ran out the door, headed for Setsuna's dorm. Negi, caring deeply for Konoka, stayed behind to comfort her and try to figure out what happened.

"Why don't you tell me what happened, and we'll see if we both can't figure out what went wrong." He said. Konoka nodded, and was about to start, when the door to the dorm blew open.

"Negi, got a question fo--Whoa, Aiyo, what happened here?" Kaede Nagase asked, seeing Konoka's tears. Negi patted the bunk beside him.

"Come, sit with us Kaede-san, Konoka was just about to tell us what happened."

Kaede sat down, and gave Konoka her undivided attention, letting her know that she cared, and was ready to listen to what she had to say.

Konoka took a deep breath, then started recounting the events that happened less than an hour ago.

"Well, it happened just a little while ago, about an hour or so, when we went out looking for stuff to buy..."

Chapter One ends here. Chapter Two will be updated as updates follow. Hope you enjoyed it. Pleasant reviews, hateful spam, death threats and constructive critisizm is always appreciated. :D


	2. Chapter 2

A Wound No Sword Could Inflict, Chapter 2.

As Konoka finished telling Negi and Kaede what had happened, there were tears in her eyes. Kaede got up, and sat beside Konoka, hugging her. Negi was silent as Kaede comforted her, telling her that it wasn't her fault.

"I don't know what made Setsuna act like that, but I doubt it was you, Konoka." She said. Konoka said nothing, but took a deep breath, trying to stop her crying. Kaede rubbed her back, and was smiling her intelligent, knowing half-smile at Negi over Konoka's shoulder.

_You know what's wrong? _Negi mouthed, moving his hands to illustrate his words.

Kaede nodded. _Tell you later._

Negi nodded, and got up, moving to the kitchen. He got a cup down, and the can of hot chocolate mix. He poured some water into a pot, and instead of waiting for the stove to boil it, he swiftly muttered a spell, and the cup started heating, boiling the water in about twenty seconds. Negi smiled, and poured in three extra large spoonfuls of chocolate powder, the kind with the mini marshmallows, just for Konoka.

Once he was sure it was well stirred, he picked it up, and carried it over to Konoka, who by now had dried her tears. She smiled at Negi, and accepted the cup.

"Careful, it's hot." He warned, and she grinned. "Thanks Negi-Sensei." She said. Negi shook his head. "It's okay."

Konoka took a sip of the hot chocolate, and she couldn't help but cheer up a little bit. It tasted really good, and helped calm her down even further.

"Thank you both, Negi-Sensei, and Kaede-nechan." She said. "It was really nice of you to help me." She said.

Negi grinned. "No problem, we'd help you with anything." He said. Konoka took another sip of hot chocolate.

"I still don't know what to do about Setsuna, though." She said. Kaede didn't want her to get depressed again, so she gave her another hug, keeping her arm around her.

"Hey, don't worry about it, when Asuna get's back, and tells us what's going on, then we'll figure out what to do." She said. "And who knows, once Asuna get's back, we may not have to do anything, your problem might be fixed." She said. "So let's just wait and see."

Konoka nodded, straightening up. She took another sip of hot chocolate, and nodded again. "Okay, we'll wait and see what happens." She said.

_Meanwhile..._

Asuna glared at Setsuna's closed door, before pounding loudly on it.

"Hey, Setsuna!" She yelled. "Open this damn door! Now!" She said. "Whatever you did to Konoka has her crying her eyes out!" She said. "You hear me!?!" She pounded on the door again, then tried the handle. It was open, so Asuna let herself in, looking around. It was set up like most of the other dorms, and there was nothing unusual about it, no weapon displays or anything to suggest that Setsuna was a graduate of Shinmei School. Asuna saw Setsuna curled up on her bed, facing the wall, and she walked over, prepared to bawl her out.

"Hey, Setsuna! You didn't hea..." Asuna saw something dark red on the bedsheets, and her eyes widened. "Setsuna?" She asked softly, moving closer. "A-Are you okay?"

There was no answer, and Asuna tentatively touched her shoulder. "Setsuna, come on, this ain't funny..." She looked over Setsuna's curled up body to see if there was a wound, and her breath caught in her throat as she glimpsed the deep wound.

"Oh my God...NEGI!"

Asuna ran out the door, not knowing if Setsuna was dead or not, and panic gripped her, numbing her mind and making her movements clumsy.

"NEGI!" She screamed down the hall, before realizing that her voice would never reach him. Quickly remembering her pactio card, she took it out of her pocket with trembling hands, dropped it to the floor. She cursed, and picked it up again, activating it and placing it to her forehead.

"NEGI!"

A second later, Negi's pained voice was heard. "Not so loud, Asuna, ple-"  
"Setsuna's dead!" She shrieked, feeling her heart twist as she said the words.

"What!?!"

"I don't know!" Asuna cried, feeling tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. "She's just laying on her bed, with blood-soaked sheets, and she didn't respond when I called her name!!" She said. "Oh God, I don't know what to do!"

Asuna fell to the floor, never noticing the mild pain that shot through her knees when they collided with the floor.

"Oh my God, please Negi, do something!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's horrible, please, I think she's dead!!..."

Negi's voice could be heard ordering her to stay calm, but she couldn't hear him, or even register his words.

Asuna, blinded through her tears, ran back into the room, and dropped down next to Setsuna, who was still on the bed, in the same curled up, horrible position.

"Setsuna, please, don't be dead..." She sobbed, putting her head down on the side of the bed. Without looking up, she reached out and touched Setsuna's arm.

"Oh my God, she's cold as ice." She whispered, not believing it. "Please, Negi, hurry! Do something and save my friend."

A minute later, Negi broke into the room, staring at Asuna, who was slumped over the bed, crying, her hand on Setsuna's arm. He let go of Konoka's hand, and ran over to the bedside, looking at her.

"She was like this when you found her?" He asked, nervousness starting to grip him too. Asuna nodded. "Do something!" She yelled. "Don't just stand there, do something!"

Negi looked at her, and saw fear and panic in her wide eyes, and he looked back at Setsuna, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"Se-Se-chan?" Konoka asked timidly. She reached out, and touched Setsuna's face, not wanting to believe it.

"Setsuna...?" Konoka asked. "No. Please don't, Se-chan..." She pleaded, not really knowing what she was begging Setsuna to do.

Seeing Setsuna laying on the bed, curled up with blood everywhere, and a gaping wound in her stomach drove Konoka past the edge, and her love for Setsuna made her not want to believe what she was seeing.

"Please be okay..." She said pitifully, kneeling on the bed and leaning over Setsuna. Seeing no response, Konoka started crying again, tears running down her face and dripping onto the sheets.

"Oh Setsuna..." Konoka whispered, leaning down and covering Setsuna's body with hers, hugging her. She tried to keep the tears at bay, but she couldn't, and she started crying even harder. "Please don't be dead, please don't."

As Konoka pressed her cheek to Setsuna's, she heard a faint thumping sound. Konoka opened her eyes in surprise, and looked down at Setsuna. She wasn't moving, but she knew she hadn't imagined the sound.

Konoka held her breath, and did the same thing, pressing her cheek against Setsuna's. A second later, a gentle 'thump' could be heard, and Konoka realized it was Setsuna's faintly beating heart. Just to make sure, she pressed her ear to Setsuna's chest, and listened.

There was nothing for a few seconds, but sure enough, eventually came the gentle thumping of Setsuna's heart. Tears of happiness and relief were threatening to come out, but Konoka knew she didn't have time for that.

"She's alive!" She gasped, sitting up. "Setsuna's heart is beating!"

Negi quickly checked for a pulse, and confirmed it, slightly embarrassed that he had not done so earlier. However, there was no time for embarrassment, as Konoka gently pulled the unconscious Setsuna over onto her back, revealing her wounded stomach.

"That's where the sabre went in!" She said, pointing.

Negi looked at it, and he felt shivers run through his body at the sight of the open wound.

"Ca-can you fix it Konoka?" He asked.

Konoka looked around, then back at the wound.

"Uh, I uh, I can try." She said, her confidence in her abilities rapidly draining at the sight of the wound.

"Do your best!" Asuna said, kneeling beside the bed. She took ahold of Setsuna's hand, and held it tightly, intense worry plainly visible across her face.

Konoka nodded, and swallowed nervously. She placed trembling hands upon the wound, and closed her eyes, visualizing the healing power within her.

"I-It's not coming!" She said.

Asuna moaned fearfully, and gripped Setsuna's hand tighter, feeling tears coming. "Please Konoka, you can do it!"

Konoka took a deep breath to calm herself, and when she pictured Setsuna's smiling face in her mind, she felt the beginnings of her power leaking through the barrier of tension and nervousness.

_Calm yourself, Konoka. Think of who you're trying to save, the only girl you've ever loved, and still love, and the only one who stuck up for you and protected you when no one else would!_

The power inside her became stronger, and more tangible. Konoka was able to get a hold on it, and recognize it as something physical, and therefore, something she could use.

Asuna raised her head when she felt Setsuna's hand squeeze back, and she saw Konoka, both hands on her stomach, neither trembling nor wavering, and the subtle blue color of healing magic that flowed from her hands into Setsuna's body.

"Konoka, you're doing it!" Asuna gasped, watching the wound close and fade away to nothing.

Konoka stopped once the wound was healed, then opened her eyes. Setsuna was breathing more normally now, and her skin had gotten warmer. Asuna gently squeezed Setsuna's hand, and Setsuna squeezed back, before opening her eyes, slowly.

"K-Konoka-ojou-sama?" She said weakly.

Konoka moved into her view, her face flushed from worry and her efforts of healing, but still carrying the happiness that flooded through her that she felt when she saw Setsuna waking up.

"Hi Se-chan." She said softly.

Setsuna sat up, and noticed Negi standing by the bed, looking worried, and Asuna looking up at her from the floor, blushing and still holding her hand.

"Uh, Negi-Sensei, Asuna, what happened?"

Konoka looked at Setsuna, and all at once, felt the full impact of how close she had come to losing Setsuna.

"Y-you almost died Setsuna." Konoka said, her eyes filling with tears again. Setsuna's eyes widened at both her statement, and at the sight of Konoka ready to cry.

"Wha? I don't even remember what happened!" She said. Konoka sniffed, and sat down beside Setsuna.

"I'm sorry, Setsuna." She said.

Setsuna leaned over and held her head as blood rushed to it from sitting up too fast. She grimaced, then, a few seconds later, it was gone. "Sorry for what?" She asked.

"I tried to heal your wound from the fight, but you wouldn't let me in, and wouldn't talk to me, and I got so worried about you, but I couldn't do anything to help you, you wouldn't let me in, and...and..."

Setsuna took Konoka into her arms, and let her cry on her shoulder. Setsuna looked at Negi, then Asuna, then the floor. She really felt bad for what she had put them all through, and she had acted in a way that was severely unbefitting a graduate of the Shinmei School.

Setsuna blushed lightly as Konoka turned to face her fully, pulling her closer. She felt Konoka's hands around her waist, and felt Konoka's sobs against her neck, her cheek becoming moist from Konoka's tears. Setsuna felt Konoka shaking against her as she cried, and it only made Setsuna hold her tighter.

"Never again." Setsuna whispered into her ear. "Never again will I do something like that, Konoka-ojou-sama." She said. "I'm so sorry." Despite all her training against it, Setsuna couldn't help it. The pain and the worry she had caused everyone was getting to her, and now, feeling Konoka shaking from fear and relief, and crying because Setsuna had been so stupid, it made her cry.

She fought the tears, but they came anyway, and she buried her face in Konoka's shoulder, wishing she could take back what she had done.

"I'm so sorry Konoka, I'm so so sorry." Her voice shook as she spoke, but she couldn't control it. She squeezed her eyes closed, but the tears continued coming.

Negi took Asuna by the arm, and led her out.

"Where we going, Negi?" She asked. "I wanna see if Setsuna is okay."

Negi shook his head.

"No, you know as well as I do that those two need their privacy, they have a lot to sort out." He said. "I'm sure they'll both be fine now."

Asuna nodded. "Yeah...I hope they're both okay."

Negi grinned. "They'll both be fine, Konoka will straighten out both their feelings, and Setsuna is strong enough to recover from thrice that amount of damage." He said.

Asuna nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She said.

Negi looked at her. "You okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm still in shock from what I saw." She said. "I still can't believe there could be that much blood." She said. She slid her gaze from the floor, to Negi's face.

"I was so scared, Negi." She whispered. "I thought I lost my friend." She said. "I guess I never really realized 'till now how dangerous this magic stuff is." She said. "Even though you told me repeatedly, and the others that it would be dangerous, we never really imagined anything like this could happen." She said.

Negi nodded. "That's the sad thruth, Asuna." He said. "Stuff happens, and sometimes it isn't all fun and games." He said. "People get hurt, and may even..." He trailed off, thinking about it. "Well, in any case, Setsuna knew the risks when she started training at the Shinmei school." He said. "She'll be alright, you'll see." He said.

Asuna nodded. "Thanks Negi." She said. "And from now on, I'm gonna listen to you when you tell me something is dangerous or not." She said.

Negi smiled. "That's good Asuna." He replied. "But, actually, there's no one I'd rather have beside me in a tough situation than you." He said.

Asuna blushed, and looked down at him.

"Wha...what do you mean?" She asked. Negi smiled that kid smile that used to get her so irritated, but this time it had no effect.

"I mean, Asuna," He said, "I trust you with my life, and even though it will be dangerous, I know I can count on you."

Asuna's blush deepened. "Uh, yeah, of course you count on me, you have to, because you're still such a kid, and can't do it yourself!" She said, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

Negi saw through her ploy, and merely smiled. "That may be so, Asuna." He said. Before she could reply, he motioned forward with his wrapped staff. "Shall we get back to the bunk?" He asked. "Kaede-nesan will want to hear what happened."

Asuna nodded. "Okay, let's go."

---

Konoka heard them leave, but she barely noticed. She had almost lost Setsuna, and now that it was over, the harsh reality of what could have happened was sinking in. Konoka hugged Setsuna tighter, and heard her apologizing, but she didn't want to hear it.

"Please, Setsuna, not now." She said. "It's not your fault, please don't be sorry." She said.

Setsuna, not one to be overly dramatic, for she almost never showed emotion, didn't try to force the issue, but deep inside, she knew that it was her fault.

"Please, I hope you don't hate me or think I'm weak." She said, trying to halt the slow trickle of tears that didn't seem to be stopping.

Konoka shook her head. "I would never think you're weak, Se-chan." She said. "Even when that girl stabbed you, it wasn't weakness that I saw, it was strength, for taking such a hit, and getting back up and knocking her down. Even now, surviving such a wound, it would take so much willpower for something like that." She said.

Setsuna smiled sadly. "But this was all you, Konoka-ojou-sama." She said. "You healed me."

Now that she was getting into conversation, the image of Setsuna curled up on her blood-soaked sheets was disappearing from her mind, and the tears were stopping. Konoka shook her head. "I was only able to heal you because you were still alive in the first place." She said. Setsuna smiled, despite herself.

"Okay, you win." She said. Her tears too, had stopped, and she was relieved that Konoka didn't think her weak.

"So you really don't think I'm weak?" She asked.

Konoka smiled. "No, Se-chan, to me, you're the strongest, most beautiful girl in the world, and no amount of defeat would change that, because I know you'd get back up and beat them, and to me, that's real strength." She said.

Setsuna felt her face heating up. "Y-you think I'm beautiful?" She asked.

Konoka blushed. "Oops, did I really...?"

Setsuna nodded, laughing. "Yeah, Konoka-ojou-sama, you did."

"G-gomen Nasai." She said. Setsuna, happier now that Konoka was cheering up, hugged her once more.

"Thank you so much for what you did for me, Konoka-ojou-sama." She said. Konoka grinned. "It was my pleasure, Setsuna." She said.

Setsuna looked away, then back at Konoka.

"Y-you remember back when you wanted me as your probational contract partner, and kissing is the only way to do it?" She asked. Konoka nodded. "Yeah, and you said that kissing between girls is wrong, and I was really looking forward to becoming your partner too!" She said. "Meanie!"

Setsuna laughed. "Well, like I said, it wasn't that I minded the kissing part, really, I just didn't know how everyone else would take it." She said. Konoka shrugged.

"I wouldn't care what people thought of us, all that matters to me is you, Setsuna." She said. Setsuna raised an eyebrow, grinning at her. "Oh reeeeeally?" She asked.

Konoka nodded, smiling. "Yeah, your the whole world to me, Setsuna, nothing would ever replace you."

Setsuna blushed. "I didn't know you felt _that_ strongly about me, Konoka." She said. Konoka looked up at her, worry flooding her eyes. "Why, you don't like me quite that much?" She asked.

Setsuna shook her head. "No, it's not that, I just never knew you felt the same way about me as I did about you." She said. The worry in Konoka's eyes melted away, to be replaced with happiness.

"I do, Setsuna." She said. "Why do you ask?"

"Wellll, what if I said I was giving that probationary contract a thought, and I decided that we should do it, would you do the contract with me?" Setsuna asked.

Konoka's eyes widened, and she smiled. "Yeah!" She said. "I would definitely do it!"

"Kissing another girl doesn't bother you?" Setsuna asked. Konoka shrugged. "Well, I don't know what it would be like to kiss a girl, but as long as it's with you, I'm sure I would enjoy it either way..." She said. She could feel herself blushing, and she hoped that she hadn't weirded Setsuna out.

Setsuna looked at her for a minute, then nodded.

"Okay, do you want to start a contract with me?" She asked. Konoka looked at her, not believing her ears. "I-it won't interfere with my contract with Negi-Sensei?" She asked.

Setsuna shook her head. "Nope, it'll be fine." She said. Konoka nodded. "Then I would very much like to." She said. "I-if it's fine with you, of course." She said.

Setsuna grinned, and straightened up on the bed, moving closer to Konoka. "Whatever's fine with you is alright with me." She said.

Konoka blushed as Setsuna moved closer to her, and she thought of what Setsuna was about to do. "I'm ready, Setsuna." She whispered.

Setsuna smiled, then leaned in, and placed her lips on Konoka's. Konoka moaned softly, and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Setsuna's soft lips on hers, and Setsuna's gentle hands against her back. Konoka tried to keep her hands off Setsuna, knowing it was just supposed to be a contract kiss, but it was something she had waited so long for, and by the girl she had idolized for so long, she just couldn't.

Konoka raised her hands and caressed the back of Setsuna's neck with her left hand, letting her right hand slide down Setsuna's back. Setsuna blushed at the touching, but didn't stop the kiss.

Konoka let herself slowly fall backward onto the bed, Setsuna's lips still on hers, and she slid both hands down to Setsuna's waist, holding Setsuna over her as Setsuna kissed her hard. Setsuna supported her upper body by placing her two hands on both sides of Konoka's shoulders, palms flat on the bed. Setsuna finally broke the kiss, and Konoka looked up at her, red-faced.

"I...ah...that better produce a really good contract card." Konoka said softly, slightly embarrassed by what had just happened. Setsuna laughed, and gently stroked Konoka's cheek with her thumb, staring down at her.

"You're so beautiful, Konoka-ojou-sama..." She said. Konoka smiled, and placed a cool hand on Setsuna's arm. "Please, Se-chan, no more ojou-sama."

Setsuna nodded, then remembered something. She grinned naughtily, then leaned down so her nose was almost touching Konoka's.

"Guess what we forgot?" She asked.

Konoka looked up at her, smiling happily. "What's that?" She asked.

"The Magic circle which creates the contract." She said.

Konoka shrugged. "Oh, well, that just means we get to do it again." She said happily.

Setsuna laughed, then slowly leaned down, staring into Konoka's eyes. "Should I do it again?" She asked.

Konoka nodded, her hair falling into her eyes. "Yeah, you should." She said. "I want you to."

Setsuna smiled, pushed Konoka's bangs out of her face, then leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. This time, Setsuna, whose upper body was over Konoka, while her legs and hips were on her right, sitting on the bed with her feet on the floor, decided to go a bit further. Setsuna slowly leaned forward, getting her weight off her legs. Then slowly, as she concentrated on the kiss, she slipped her left leg over Konoka's body, to straddle her hips. As Setsuna lowered her body onto Konoka's hips, Konoka moaned in pleasure at the slight pressure Setsuna's body created, sending light, tingling streaks of pleasure through her body. Unable to control herself, she pushed her hips forward, wanting more pressure down by her navel.

Setsuna moaned as Konoka's hips pressed between her open legs, and she inadvertently tried to close them, before realizing she couldn't. Setsuna ran her fingers through Konoka's hair, and tilted her head a bit, slightly opening her mouth.

Having spent time with some of the more perverted members of the class, Konoka knew exactly what to do, opening her mouth, and tilting her head opposite of Setsuna.

Setsuna was mildly surprised when Konoka's mouth opened, but she took advantage of it, kissing her deeply, only one of the many things she had sometimes thought about doing to Konoka. Konoka put her arms around Setsuna's waist, and hugged her while she kissed, loving the feel of the deep kiss with Setsuna.

When they finally came apart, Setsuna was breathless, and her face was flushed. Konoka was breathless too, and her face much resembled Setsuna's for shade and color.

"Th-tha..that was amazing, Setsuna." Konoka whispered. "I had no idea you could kiss like that."

Setsuna smiled, staring down at the beautiful girl that she had just managed to kiss twice. "Me neither, apparently, until today." She said.

Suddenly, Konoka's smile turned to a pout. "And we still forgot the magic circle." She said. Setsuna laughed. "Welllll, I don't really feel like getting up and drawing one." She said. "It's usually Chamo-kun's job." She said. Konoka nodded. "And I don't want you to get up either." She said.

"Well, guess we'll just keep going, until someone comes by to draw us a contract circle." Konoka said casually, catching Setsuna by surprise.

"Wh-what?" She asked. "What else do you want to do?"

Konoka grinned happily at her. "Let me show you." She said, before rolling over, and reversing their positions. Now Konoka was straddling Setsuna, and she had to say, she did love the feeling of straddling her.

"Things I want to do..." Konoka said softly, staring into Setsuna's eyes. "They are things like these..."

---

Asuna and Negi returned to their dorm, and they were greeted by Kaede as they entered.

"What happened?" She asked, worried about what was going on. She hadn't heard the conversation between Asuna and Negi, but Negi had looked awfully worried when he had ran out of the dorm room.

"Ahh, a wound on Setsuna seemed to be pretty serious, and Asuna was taken by surprise, and she used her Artifact to communicate with me, and she asked for me to come down and take a look at Setsuna." He said, glossing over the details. "It looked pretty bad, but we got everything cleaned up. Sorry for taking off like that, Kaede Ne-san." He said. She smiled. "No worries. I hope you don't mind, I helped myself to some hot chocolate while you were gone."

Asuna laughed. "That's fine." She said.

Negi walked over, and sat on Konoka's bed, next to Kaede. "Ahh, but it's been a hectic day." He sighed, closing his eyes. Asuna walked over, and flopped onto her bed, rolling over onto her side to look at Negi. She lost herself in thought as she remembered Negi telling her that she was the one he could count on most in a bad situation, and for some reason, that was the only time he could get away with that goofy kid smile without annoying her.

Her eyes widened as Kaede smiled, putting her arm around Negi-Sensei's shoulder. She gently pulled him close, until he was resting on her shoulder. Asuna glared at Kaede, but from her position, Kaede couldn't see it.

_Why's she gotta go and do that now?_ She asked, staring at Negi. _Aww who cares about him anyway, he's just an annoying kid._

She was about to turn away, when she saw Negi get up.

"Sorry Kaede Ne-san," He said, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just not used to that, so it's a bit painful on the neck."

Kaede smiled softly. "Ahh, than perhaps this?" She asked, leaning against the wall and gently pulling Negi between her legs so that his back was against her chest. Negi lifted his arms as Kaede slid her arms around his waist, hugging him. Negi then let his head lean back on her shoulder, and he sighed again.

"Yeah, this is better." He said.

"A bit more familiar, eh?" She asked.

Negi nodded. "Yeah, last time was awkward, but it turned out to be just the thing I needed that weekend, you were a real life-saver." He said. Kaede smiled again, and nuzzled his neck.

"Don't worry about it Negi-Sensei, you know I'm there every sunday, so you come to me whenever things get stressful, I'll take good care of you." She said. Negi smiled. "I know, and I really appreciate it." He said. Kaede said nothing, but from her new position against the wall, she could now see Asuna, if she looked up. Her attention off Negi, she did just that, looking up in time to see Asuna giving her a weird look.

"Something wrong, Asuna-san?" She asked. Asuna shook her head, falling onto her back. "Nothing!"

Kaede looked at her a second longer, but Asuna refused to meet her gaze, instead, she stared at the ceiling, and said nothing.

"Okay, just wondering." She said. She looked back to Negi, to ask him a question, but he was passed out, sleeping in her arms. The question died on her tongue, and for the first time in a long time, a light blush came to her cheeks as new emotions flooded her body.

---

Negi awoke, yawning, and he wondered what time it was. Slow to awake, he stayed where he was until his mind became fully aware. When his mind did become fully aware, he became aware that he was in a slightly reclined sitting position, and that whatever he was leaning against was warm, soft, and moving slightly. He tried to remember last night, and he did so with a groan, remembering the trouble with Setsuna-san, and dealing with a worried Konoka and a crying Asuna. He remembered coming back to his dorm after Setsuna was revived and healed, then remembered being extremely tired. Kaede Ne-san had then pulled him into an embrace, then a minute later, she had leaned up against the wall, and let him rest upon her.

Negi blushed lightly, and tried to get up. At first, he thought he was merely weak from sleep, but then he realized Kaede was holding him to her body, in a very awkward way. Her left arm curled under his left arm, and around to the right side of his chest, her hand cupping his mildly formed chest muscle. Her right arm was under his right, and went down near his waist, her fingers tucked about an inch under the waistband of his pants. Negi started blushing hard, and he gently removed her hand from his pants.

"Kaede." He whispered. There was no response, so he said her name a bit louder.

"Kaede?" This time she moaned lightly, and mumbled his name. "Mhmm, Negi..."

"Kaede Ne-san, please wake up!" He said.

"Ahh? Huh?" Kaede woke up, and blinked a few times, before yawning. "Mmmmhmmmm, did you say something Negi?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, I wanted you to wake up so you could release me." He said. Kaede looked down, and realized she was groping Negi's chest.

"Ahh, hehe, sorry Negi-kun." She said, removing her hand. Negi laughed. "It's okay." He said. He got up, and walked to the kitchen, getting ready to make some tea.

"Asuna left for her paper route already, huh?" Negi asked, already knowing she had.

"Mmmhmmmmm..." Was Kaede's only reply, and Negi laughed gently to himself. "Asuna sure does work hard, that's for sure."

Negi stared at the water until it had boiled, then poured himself and Kaede a cup of tea.

"Hey, Kaede, want so...?" He stopped when he saw that Kaede had curled up on Konoka's bed, and was fast asleep again, her clothes wrinkled and her hair out of her wrap. Now that Negi got to see her with her hair down, he smiled and realized that whether it was up or down, she was still a very beautiful woman.

---

Setsuna heard her alarm go off, and she rolled over, grabbing it off the bedside table. She yawned, and brought it over to see what time it said. It was flashing six-thirty, and she knew she should really get up for her morning training. She flicked off the alarm, and rolled back over, shivering as the sheets slid against her bare skin.

_Huh? Bare skin?_

Setsuna opened her sleepy eyes, and in the semi-darkness, she realized that she was indeed naked as the day she was born. She looked over, and saw Konoka sleeping next to her, facing her. Konoka too was naked, but now that the night was over, it was more of a symbol of purity than of sexuality. Setsuna smirked, and dropped her alarm clock on the floor, reaching over to take Konoka in her arms again. _We weren't too pure last night, were we Konoka?_ She thought, hugging Konoka close. Konoka moaned in her sleep, and reached out, putting her arm around Setsuna's waist. Setsuna sighed, and kissed Konoka's neck. As she did, she spotted the couple hickeys that weren't there before, and it brought a blush to her face as she remembered how exactly they had gotten there.

Konoka hummed softly, and Setsuna cuddled up to her, nuzzling her neck.

_Guess I'll sleep in until Konoka awakes. _She thought. _Wouldn't want her to worry when she wakes up and I'm not here._

Setsuna closed her eyes, and fatigue rapidly closed in, slowing her breathing. Being here like this, she thought, was more than anything she could have asked for. She was holding the one she loved, nothing was interrupting them, they just had the most amazing night of their lives, and now Setsuna got to see Konoka while she was sleeping.

"I love you Konoka..." She whispered, knowing that Konoka was asleep. _Maybe I'll tell her when she wakes up._ She thought, fading into sleep. _I hope she loves me back and had enjoyed everything we did as much as I did..._

A/N: So there's the second chapter, I will either end it there, or, if reviewers want it, continue it and make it a series, as I have with my some of my other one-shots. Please review, and give me the honest truth. It's the only way I'll get better at writing. :D


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